Recently, the Korean Business Research Institute revealed the brand reputation rankings for Korean drama actors for August 2026.
These rankings were determined through an analysis of media coverage, consumer participation, interactive communication, and social media buzz. Specifically, the study evaluated 100 actors who appeared in television dramas and OTT platform series broadcast between July 18 and August 18, 2026.
Because the OTT content market continues to expand, actors’ activities have broadened far beyond traditional television broadcasts and theatrical film releases. As a result, big data analysis now encompasses performers across various online platforms as well as traditional media outlets.
For August 2026, Nam Joo Hyuk secured the #1 position following his powerful performance in The East Palace. In this series, he plays Gu-cheon, a soul hunter capable of traveling between two realms. Consequently, he earned a total brand reputation index of 3,782,247. Furthermore, high-ranking search terms associated with him included “The East Palace,” “Roh Yoon-seo,” and “CODE,” while related terms included “stable,” “heartwarming,” and “donate.” Overall, his positive reaction ratio reached 91.42%.
Meanwhile, Namkoong Min closely followed in 2nd place for his role in The Husband. He plays Kang Tae-joo, a renowned hospital director who becomes a suspect in the kidnapping of his estranged wife. Although the series has concluded, his popularity continues to soar, thereby earning him a brand reputation index of 3,028,022.
In 3rd place, Yoon Kyung Ho created a sensation with the hit series Agent Kim Reactivated. In addition, this follows his previous success in the military cuisine fantasy drama The Legend of Kitchen Soldier. Thanks to this momentum, he achieved a brand reputation index of 2,940,121 for the month.
Next, So Ji Sub claimed the 4th spot after capturing global fan interest as Department Head Kim in Agent Kim Reactivated. Ultimately, the drama concluded with a massive peak rating of 23.0%, thus becoming the highest-rated Korean drama of 2026. Due to this massive wave of popularity, he recorded a brand index of 2,723,464.
Finally, rounding out the top 5, Gong Hyo Jin secured 5th place with a brand index of 2,667,244. She recently made her comeback in A Bona Fide Killer as Yoo Bo-na. On one hand, she lives as a regular working mother; on the other hand, she secretly operates as ‘Kingfisher‘—a legendary sniper assassin. Therefore, her impressive delivery of both action and emotional scenes earned her widespread acclaim from viewers worldwide.
Top 30 Popular Korean Drama Actors (August 2026):
- Nam Joo Hyuk
- Namkoong Min
- Yoon Kyung Ho
- So Ji Sub
- Gong Hyo Jin
- Kim Min Ha
- Kim Mu-yeol
- Kim Hye-soo
- Jung Joon-won
- Kim Hye-jun
- Ji Sung
- Roh Yoon-seo
- Park Ji-hyun
- Choi Dae-hoon
- Joo Sang-wook
- Lee Dong-wook
- Park Eun-bin
- Lee Sung-min
- Kim Go-eun
- Seo In-guk
- Yang Se-jong
- Cho Seung-woo
- Son Na-eun
- Jo Yeo-jeong
- Kim Ji-hoon
- Hwang In-youp
- Jung Hae-in
- Hani (EXID)
- Lee Min-ho
- Ahn Bo-hyun
